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Delaware River Port Authority

The Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA), officially the Delaware River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, is a bi-state agency instrumentality created by a congressionally approved interstate compact between the state governments of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The authority is principally charged to maintain and develop transportation links between the two states with four bridges and a mass transit rail line across the Delaware River. Though the DRPA has "port" in its name, it does not own or operate any ports.

Not to be confused with Delaware River and Bay Authority, Delaware River Basin Commission, or Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.

Abbreviation

DRPA

July 17, 1951

Bi-state authority Congressionally-approved interstate compact entity

One Port Center
Camden, New Jersey, U.S.

Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including Philadelphia, Camden, and its surrounding regions

Jim Schultz[1]

John T. Hanson

drpa.org

Board of Commissioners[edit]

Sixteen commissioners govern the Delaware River Port Authority, eight of whom represent New Jersey and Pennsylvania. All eight New Jersey commissioners are appointed by the governor of New Jersey, and six Pennsylvania commissioners are appointed by the governor of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania treasurer and the Pennsylvania auditor general serve as ex officio commissioners. These two officers are elected officials.


The 16 commissioners also serve as the board of directors for the Port Authority Transit Corporation or PATCO, a DRPA subsidiary.

– Completed in 1974, the longest of the four bridges. It connects Chester, Pennsylvania with Bridgeport, New Jersey. It carries U.S. Route 322 and New Jersey County Route 536. It is the last crossing of the Delaware River between New Jersey and Pennsylvania; the next crossing, to the south, is the Delaware Memorial Bridge between New Jersey and Delaware.

Commodore Barry Bridge

– The most heavily traveled of the four bridges, the Walt Whitman Bridge connects South Philadelphia to Gloucester City, New Jersey. It carries Interstate 76, also known as the Schuylkill Expressway. For passengers going to Pennsylvania from New Jersey, it sees its heaviest volume traffic during sports contests, as the South Philadelphia Sports Complex is at the foot of the bridge. For passengers going into New Jersey from Pennsylvania, it sees its heaviest volume of traffic from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day, as the Walt Whitman provides access via I-76 and New Jersey Route 42 to the Atlantic City Expressway, and thus to shore points in South Jersey, where many Philadelphia-area residents have shore houses or go for a day trip.

Walt Whitman Bridge

– The first completed bridge out of the four (opened in 1926) carries U.S. Route 30 and Interstate 676, as well as the PATCO Speedline. The bridge connects Camden, New Jersey with Center City, Philadelphia. It held the position of the World's longest suspension bridge from 1926 to 1929 until being surpassed by the Ambassador Bridge.

Benjamin Franklin Bridge

– The youngest of the four bridges (opened 1976), it connects the Bridesburg section of Philadelphia to Pennsauken. It carries New Jersey Route 90. Arriving in Pennsylvania, it directly intersects with I-95.

Betsy Ross Bridge

Interstate compact

List of crossings of the Delaware River

(another bi-state agency of New Jersey and Pennsylvania that operates bridges further north on the Delaware River)

Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission

(a bi-state agency of Delaware and New Jersey that operates bridges further south on the Delaware River)

Delaware River and Bay Authority

(a bi-state agency of New York and New Jersey that also operates a rapid transit line, PATH)

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

DRPA official website

PATCO official website

Delaware River Port Authority Police Department page

39°56′38″N 75°07′48″W / 39.94397°N 75.13000°W / 39.94397; -75.13000